Burial-shoe.



i To all whom t may concern:

will conform to the shape of the foot, and

' TED sTATEs PATENT on JOSEPH of. B'IXBY, .OF DncATun, ILLINOIS, nss'snon To THE BIXB'Y COMPANY, or

DEOATUR, ILM-nots, A CORPORATION OF ILLINoIs.-V`v y Y BRIALLSHOE.

Specfcationiof Letters Paten-t.

Patented A151. 11, 1916.

Application led September 8, 1,913. Serial Nol 788,508.

Be it `known that I, JOSEPH G. BTXB'Y, a citizen ofthe United States, a resident of Decatur, in the countyl of Macon and State of Illinois, havey invented'new and useful Improvements in Burial-Shoes, of which the following is a specification. Y

' My invention Arelates to improvements in burial shoes, and has for'its objects the provision vof a shoe of that character which readily conforms to the foot and particu- 'larly'the ball of the foot and has aheel construction which permits the shoe to accommodate itself to variations in size.

A further object is the provision of a burial shoe which may be applied to the foot with ready facility and be a good fit.

A further object is the provision 'of a removable stiffening for the vamp portion of the shoe so that the shoe is stiffened to hold its shape until used, when the removable stifening is taken outso that the shoe lits the foot.

A further object is the improvement of various details whereby a light, cheap shoe, practical for 4its purposeis provided.v

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such lother objects as may hereinafter appear, my invention `consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter specified and then .sou ht to be defined in the appended claims, 1re erenoe being had to the accompanying draw- 'ing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of my invention, it being understood however, that changes may be made in practice without digressing from my inventive idea.

- In the drawing, Figure l is a perspective view of a shoe constructed' according to my invention, part of thel covering or finishing material being removed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the shoe in condition to be applied to a foot, the ends of the sole being bent` out of position for illustrative purposes. Fig. 3 is an-elevation of the heel portion ofthe shoe. Fig. 4 is a detail section. Fig. 5 is a detail'vertical section of lthe heel vand counter construction without showing the fabric. n

In shoes of this character it isvery desirable to have them constructed so'that' they particularly `the ball portion thereof.A 'This desirable kfeature is obtained by providing a removable stiifening portion for the vamp, which may be taken out when the lshoe is to be used, allowing it to lit the foot closely, the covering and dfinishing material being light `and flexible. The heel 4is constructed Aso that it may give or yield to permit the shoe ,to accommodate itself to any slight diffeiienc'esin size and permits of easy ad-r justmst Referring now tothe drawings, l designatesfthe shoe as a wholephavingthe toe portion and the heel portion 3, and the spie portion 4. The body, basev or foundation'of the shoe is formed of the stiffening fabric or material 5, which las shown in Fig, l is so formed as tojprovide the toefcap ,6 v and the counters 7 leaving a cut-out portion from the toe-cap to the counters.

the mak-ing of the shoe, this cut-out portion receives the removable stiffening por- Ation 8, which stifens theV vamp and the ball ofthe shoe, and the edges of which conform to ythe edges of the stiffening fabric or material This stiffening member 8 is de- :tachably secured to the oase fabric 5 by means of the tapes or similar fastenings 9, the freeends 10` Vof the tapes projecting y through the lining l1 of the shoe, as shown,

the lining being loose in the shoe.

The sole4 is 'composed of a suitable stiffening` material or fabric, molded to conform tothe Ishape ofthe shoe, and having its edge turned overto form a bead, as shown at'l2,

Fig. 4, the underside of the heel portion 13 l of 'the sole being pressed to provide a bead-v ed or countersunk construction to receive the heel 14, as at 13', Fig. 5 which is secured thereto by' cementing, pasting or tacking. A suitable covering lmaterial l5 is 4provided over`1v the `body portion and a covering material is also provided over the s ole portion, being suitably secured thereto,

stood that-the lsole portion is secured to the Ibody portion also by means of paste, cement or v'sir-iilar adhesive. It is'tovbe noticed as s hown in detail in Fig. 4, that the covering material or fabric 15 extends only a short distance over the sole, the bead l2 serving as an additional holding means, strengthening the connection and necessitating the use `by means of paste or cement, it being underof a comparatively'small amount ofcovering material, which is usually eXpensive, as it ,must v.entend only a short distance over .the sole. v v

Another advantageous feature of my invention is the heel construction. rlhe end portions of the counters are hinged, as at 16, and their free ends normally held together by the elastic members 17. This construction readily permits the shoe to adapt itself to feet of different lengths or sizes and permits of easy adjustment on the foot.

A further detail of construction is the provision of the cut-out portions or notches 18 in the sides of the base or foundation material or fabric. This provides a fiexithe extensible heel construction also assisting in providing a ready fit. The details of construction insure cheapness in manufacture and eliminate any unnecessary waste of material, at the Sametime providing apshoe that is sufficiently strong for the purpose.

What I claim is',-

l. A burial shoe including a base'or foundation, and a covering and finishing material thereover, a portion of said base or foundation being removable so as to vpermit the shoe to readily conform to the shape of the foot.

2. A burial shoe including a base or foundation formed of stiening material `and having a vamp portion, and a covering and vfinishing material thereover, said vamp portionbeing removable so as to permit the shoe to conform to the shape'of the ball of the foot.

3. A burial shoe includinga base or foundation formed of stiffening material and having a vamp portion, a coveringV and finishing material thereover, and flexible means securing said vamp portion to the remainder of said base or foundation, said flexible securing means being detachable to permity the rear part of said body portion being split at the heel to provide separable counter por- Y Y tions, the end portions thereof being` separately and independently hinged to said body portion and resilient means normally tending to draw said separable counter portions together whereby a yielding heelconstruction is provided to adapt the shoe to slight variations in size. Y

5. A burial shoe including a body portion and a sole portion, the sole being provided with a bead along its edge, and finishing and covering material for the body having its lower edge fitting between the sole and body and secured therebetween, the bead forming an additional holding means for the finishing and covering material.

G. In. a burial shoe, a base or foundation providing a toe cap and counters and having a space therebetween, a removable member fitting said space to provide a vamp stiffening means, and means for detachably securing said vamp stiffening means to said base or foundation.

7. In a burial shoe, a base or foundation providing a toe cap and counters and having a space therebetween, said base or foundation being notched adjacent the ball portion, a removable member fitting said space to provide a vamp stiffening means, and means for detachably securing said vamp stiening means to said base or foundation.

S. 1n a burial shoe, a base or foundation, a sole member having an upwardly turned bead along its edge to fit the bottom of said base or foundation, the heel portion of said sole also having a downwardly turned bead to provide a countersunk construction, a heel fitting said countersunk construction and a covering and finishing material over said base or foundation and extending between said base `or foundation and said sole member.

9. A burial shoe including a body portion, said body portion being split at the heel to provide separable counter portions, the end portions thereof being separately and independently hinged to said body portion, and

. resilient means secured to the `inside of said vhinged end portions normally tending to draw them together, whereby ya yielding heel construction is provided.

10. A burial shoe including Va base or foundation formed of stiffening material and having a vamp portion, a covering and finishing material thereover, and flexible means securing said vamp portion to the remainder of said base or foundation, said exible securing means being detachable to permit said vamp toY be removed and consisting of a member on each side of said shoe with a free portion folded back from adjacent the toe so that its end is near the heel.

11. A burial shoe including a base or foundation formed ofV sti'ening material and having a vamp portion, a covering and finishing material thereover, and flexible meansV securing said vamp portion to the remainder of said base or foundation, said fiexible securing means being detachable to permit said vamp to be removed and consisting of a member on each side of said shoe with a free portion folded back from adjacent the toe so that its end is near the heel, and a lining through which the ends of said flexible securing means project.

l2. Av burial shoe including a base or foundation having a vamp portion, a covering and finishing material thereover., and In testimony whereof, I afHX my signature means for detachably connecting the Vamp in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

portion of said base or foundation to the remainder of said base or foundation, said JOSEPH G' BIXBY 5 vamp portion being adapted to be removed Vitnesses: Y

to permit the shoe to conform to the lshape y R. R. MONTGOMERY,

of the foot. i JOI-IN S. BIXBY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each!t by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

